CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
4.1 Narrative of Informants’ Lived Experiences
In the following section, each of the interviews were recounted as a narrative to get the sense of the whole context before moving on to individual themes.
4.1.1 Ava, 37 years old, Assistant Vice President
Ava has been working with Eh, a monitoring customer service officer with a spinal column complication, for the past 2 years. However, the idea of a disabled person working in a company was not a new idea to Ava. After all, Ava knew Eh even before they have started closely working together. She knew about Eh because she has been working in the company for more than 7 years already—she even considers Eh to be popular around the company.
Prior to working with Eh, Ava generally felt pity towards disabled people.
She saw the need for the family to take care of PWDs. However, upon knowing more about her colleague, she understood that more than a burden, her colleague is actually the bread winner of the family. In this sense, she learned that disabled people must have opportunities to work and support their family as well.
Although she agrees that opportunities should be given to disabled people, she also has other concerns at the back of her head. She knows that it would be more difficult to manage and there are adjustments she would need to make personally, such as being mindful and being more considerate. In the following quote, she explains the dichotomy between 2 emotions in her head:
“We normally have 2 emotions: that ‘we need to give them opportunity’
and ‘it is more difficult to manage,’ so we need to balance each 2 emotions. When I knew that Ms. Eh will come to work with me, I need to manage where she should sit, is it an accessible area for her, does she need help, and other things”
Aside from mindfulness about the environment involving her disabled colleague, she also lowers her expectations in consideration for her colleague’s situation:
“When it comes to expectations, I do not give 100% expectations, but we need to give the opportunity for them. Sometimes, she takes too long time for some work, but we need to understand her position… We are not the person to be picky and
pushy for the work… We do not expect her to be the top performer. Some people have levels and they are different, so I let her feel more comfortable working with us”
Ava understands that disabilities might hinder someone’s work. In line with this, she greatly values the importance of the screening and recruitment process in making sure that the disabled people that she will be working with is capable of doing the task.
Nevertheless, despite the screening process, Ava feels that hands on assistance is extremely necessary for her disabled colleague. Based on her experience, the disability affects her colleague’s work behavior. Because of her colleague’s fear of being a burden, Ava noticed that Eh does not seem to be confident enough with her work, has the tendency to be hyperactive, sensitive and panic a lot. In this sense, Ava feels that she needs to keep an eye and coach Eh closely.
When it comes to conflicts at work, Ava thinks that it is not associated to the disability. Anyone at any workplace would have arguments and misunderstandings regardless of whether they are disabled or non-disabled employees. What matters more is the willingness to recognize a mistake and resolving it.
Overtime, Ava felt more comfortable working with Eh. Getting to know her personal capabilities and her personal life, she gained trust on Eh, learns patience from her experience with her, gets inspired and treats her, not only as a colleague, but as part of the family. More than work connections, learning about Eh’s life experiences inside and outside the company boosts her morale and feels proud about her companies’ policies.
4.1.2 Betty, 34 years old, Junior Claim Assessor
Betty is currently working with Yaya, a 30-year-old hunchback, as a peer in claim assessment department of an insurance company.
Even before Betty started working with Yaya, she already has respect among disabled people for their effort to live normal lives. Betty is aware that severity of disability differs from each person and while those with severe level of disability must remain under care and treatment, those who have the chance to live an independent life should participate in the society.
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Because of this initial perspective, as well as Yaya’s existing popularity in the office, she did not feel any outstanding emotion when she realized that she is going to work with a disabled person. As a matter of fact, she considers Yaya as a normal person both in working relationship and in terms of the facilities in the office.
Performance-wise, Betty feels satisfied about her disabled colleague’s participation at work. She even sees Yaya’s performance to supersede her non- disabled counterparts. Furthermore, Betty takes Yaya’s popularity as an advantage making her more influential to their team.
“Surprisingly, working with PWDs, they often give suggestion to the team that is useful. She [Yaya] is, kind of, outstanding person that is brave to say, brave to give the comment that is useful for the team. She is very influential to the team as well—she is popular… In terms of potential of the competency, sometimes she is better than able bodied… She can do it a lot and she is willing to learn, willing to develop herself…I feel more comfortable. I feel [more] trust with her as compared to other people…”
More than physical challenges, Betty thinks that Yaya is more challenged emotionally because of her disability. She tries to give support to Yaya emotionally, rather than physically, saying:
“What I found more challenging is how to make her shine with her potential, because she does not want other employees to see that she has disability. I try to make her show her potential to others…”
Betty laughs at the thought that, contrary to common belief that disabled people will most likely require assistance, Yaya is the one offering help to others:
“When someone in the team members are absent or works [with] high load, Yaya knows where she should go to help without anyone telling her.”
When asked about her general opinion on hiring PWDs, she immediately expresses her absolute agreement to go for this route, even when other options, such as contributing to the government’s disability fund, is offered. Betty states that she is very proud to tell others that her company hires disabled people.
4.1.3 Camille, 33 years old, Receptionist
More than a colleague, Camille treats her officemate, Wasana—a 39-year- old crippled risk manager, as a friend.
Growing up, Camille took care of her father who had a severe disease.
Although, not a disability, per se, she saw the similarity and she had spent this part of her life getting used to taking care of a sick person. Given this scenario, when she knew that she was going to work with a disabled person in the company, she initially had preconceptions including disabled people demanding assistance, as well as doubt regarding their capability. On the other hand, when she started working with a PWD, her predisposition towards disabled people being lower-level or low-skilled workers also ignited her curiosity about their potential and working capacity.
More than adjustment on her own working style, Camille felt that the company’s readiness to hire PWDs and provision of accessibility is the key to the smooth work among them. Nevertheless, she understands that there are inevitable short-comings in terms of equity of company benefits.
After 2 years of working with a disabled colleague, Camille got to know her disabled colleague in a deeper sense. She felt more comfortable, she heard Wasana’s life experiences, learned to discard initial judgments and keep an open- mind. More often than not, she would even overlook the disability of her colleague.
Furthermore, Wasana’s higher level of education and good performance was one of the things gave Camille a high regard to Wasana. Contrary to her initial perception, she even thinks that her disabled colleague is capable of climbing a corporate ladder and develop her career path. Consequently, this gives her motivation to work harder. On the other hand, Camille is aware of the challenges one can experience while working with disabled people. Although Wasana is the closest colleague to her, she also has brief experiences working with deaf employees. These kinds of disabilities prove to be more challenging to deal with for Camille.
Despite these foreseen challenges, Camille identifies with the company for hiring disabled people, not merely because of the opportunity given to disabled people, but more for the benefits the company and its employees get out of the experience namely recognition for the company and open-mindedness for the employees:
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“Our company should support like this. Because we have been recognized and been the role model for employment of PWDs, so I think, why not continue?... On the very first, I think that when we have PWDs in the company, it makes people open their minds--the whole company…”
4.1.4 Dennis, 30 years old, Manager
Unlike the other informants of this research, Dennis does not work directly with one disabled colleague. He works with several disabled employees hired by his company in organizing different events and projects. Although these employees were hired by the company to work in different positions, Dennis invites them to assist him in organizing events and projects with them on a voluntary basis. The disabled employees come from varied disabilities, educational backgrounds, skills and positions held in the company.
Prior to his experience working with PWDs, he already had his own perceptions to disabled people. Seeing several PWDs on the streets—alms begging, he had his doubts whether it is possible for them to work in a company.
Working with them as volunteers did not give Dennis the same pressure as compared to working with them as a direct manager. Although project and event management would have demanding deadlines and requirements, Dennis worried more about his disabled colleague’s survival in the company. He is also conscious about the prospective reaction of other people when realizing that they need to work with disabled people. In response, Dennis asks one of the disabled volunteers to give the overview of the projects to other employees to ease the preconceptions and instill an open-mind to the employees upon recruitment.
Although the tasks were on a voluntary basis and are not necessarily part of their job description from the insurance company they are working at, the disabled employees exhibited enthusiasm to work on additional tasks for the company:
“When we give them opportunities [to volunteer] to them, they would like to pay it forward to other people as well, so they are willing to be volunteers. Because they are the very first group of PWDs [to be working in the company], they would like to be the role model so that people will open their minds and other PWDs can come to work with us.”
Working with disabled employees for 8 years now, Dennis encountered different experiences and learned in the process. Working with deaf colleagues, he learned to adjust his communication style. On the other hand, working with a blind colleague, he also gained some useful perspectives from them regarding his product developments. Furthermore, he also learned to be more mindful about his colleagues other than himself:
“What I learned is the communication. You need to listen to them. Not just focus on what you are saying—not about the assignment you need to give to them. But you need to listen to them and ask [yourself], ‘Is it clear? Am I speaking the language that they can understand?...”
Having the experience of working with them for a considerable amount of time, Dennis gained trust on them, treats them as normal persons, and looks more on their capability. Their disability is considered when giving task assignments as the part of the usual manager’s task of considering the strength or weaknesses of each team member. Even for non-disabled persons, the manager must know the competencies of their team members and assign the right work for them:
“When you have some assignments, you need to think that, ‘Do they have the capability to do the assignment with the right person?’ I think, like the normal person, when you have team members with abled bodies, you need to think about that as well…”
It was visibly observable that the company had an accommodating infrastructure for disabled people. Aside from the infrastructure support, the company also had sign language lessons for both disabled and non-disabled employees to attend. Asked about the cost of implanting such accommodations, Dennis, as a manager who worked closely with the CEO, does not mind the cost that accompanies a disabled inclusive working environment. As long as it was thought and executed well, the costs will not be that high.
Dennis identifies with the company’s decision to hire disabled people.
However, he wants companies like his to think about hiring PWDs beyond merely for the purpose of the government’s quota fulfillment. He argues that hiring disabled people for their qualifications and not for their disability is the key to a sustainable disability inclusive workforce. He disagrees with giving work opportunities to
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disabled people as a mere act of charity. In fact, he thinks that doing so would be counterproductive and even further deepens the close-minded preconception towards disabled people as uncapable:
“I think it is very good that we accept them… I do not want the company to do this as charity or we need to hire them just for reaching the quota. It will not feel sustainable in the long run. When the PWDs we hire do not have the qualifications, it will corrupt the mindset of the people in the company. In the future, PWDs can get no chance to work in the company because the mindset is not open. I would like the company to continue and keep the mindset that we give people opportunity, not charity.”
4.1.5 Emily, 24 years old, HR Officer
Emily has been working with Mr. Chansak, a 44-year-old security guard without a hand, for the past 4 years. Emily did not have any background or previous experiences with disabled people prior to her entry to the engineering firm she is working in now. It was the first time for her to encounter a disabled person in real life.
Nevertheless, working in the field of human resources, she is knowledgeable about the government imposition of quota system for companies to hire disabled people. In line with this, although she did not have any prior experience, she felt ready to deal with disabled people.
Upon her first encounter with the disabled employee, she felt compassionate about the way the PWD strived to live a normal life despite his lacking body part. She also felt proud about her colleague for successfully managing normal situations with other people with a disability notwithstanding.
Working as an HR officer supervising work with Mr. Chansak, their tasks together included overseeing employees and visitors going in and out of the company premises. Although Emily is professionally at a higher position than Mr. Chansak, her disabled colleague had seniority in terms of years of service in the company. Given the situation, Mr. Chansak knew his job well enough from 6 years of experience and needed little guidance from Emily.
Although Emily thinks that the disability does not drastically affect his colleague’s competency at work, Emily did encounter some challenges working with Mr. Chansak. Furthermore, Mr. Chansak is, sometimes, not able to participate in the office’s team building activities, especially the ones requiring intense physical activity.
Nevertheless, he tries to join other activities and takes advantage of other opportunities to mingle with other employees.
Despite the challenges experienced both involving and not involving the disablilty, Emily noted that, workwise, he performs just as well—even better—than his non-disabled counterparts and tries to make his disability less of a concern. Aside from the extra manpower necessary to join him in his nightshifts, the company did not need to provide extra accommodations in the workplace infrastructure and rules for his employment.
4.1.6 Felicidad, 45 years old, Housekeeper
Same as Emily, Felicidad is working with Mr. Chansak.
However, unlike Emily, Felicidad had a close encounter with a disabled person throughout her childhood prior to her work with Mr. Chansak. In a small community in the rural area where she came from, Felicidad had a close neighbor born with no legs. She came from an impoverished place and family. Furthermore, coming from a far-flung area, they were not given support for their disabled neighbor whom they treat as a family member. A wheelchair was not available, and the disabled girl was not given the opportunity to study either. Given the situation, Felicidad grew up with a mindset that the disabled girl must be taken cared of by every person in the village and must be given consideration for everything they do.
Mr. Chansak is her first encounter with a disabled person as a working employee. Given her childhood experience, she never imagined herself interacting with a disabled person in a workplace. Their duties together included watering the garden and setting up the workplace for the appropriate occasion. Felicidad is reluctant to demand any help from Mr. Chansak. However, she frequently tells stories about Mr.
Chansak helping him out of his own initiative, emphasizing Mr. Chansak’s good attitude and helpful nature.
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This good attitude and helpful nature of Mr. Chansak instills a positive outlook in life and motivation to work harder for Felicidad. Furthermore, she never felt that Mr. Chansak was given favor more than her. On the other note, she feels that Mr. Chansak has more initiative to help than his non-disabled counterparts. Given her 9 years of experience in the company, she felt that adequate benefits are given based on their years of service in the engineering firm.
As an overall comment on Felicidad’s working experience with a PWD, she thought that work was being carried out normally. She also valued the pride and fulfillment a disabled person may get from working and supports the company policy for hiring disabled people.
4.1.7 Gerald, 56 years old, Leader of the Assembly Team
The image of a disabled person is not new to Gerald. He has been seeing disabled people ‘everywhere’ as he described—on the street and on TV. He thought that beyond their disability, they look the same as normal people. He has not thought about working with PWDs, and he had his doubts about a disabled person’s capability to accomplish a job. Nevertheless, he understood that some families would be needing the support of every living and able member in making ends meet. In this case, he thought that if the situation would call for it, disabled people can contribute to the family income.
Entering in this engineering firm where he is currently working, Gerald met Mr. Gop. A 53-year-old welder with a speech impairment. As the leader of the Assembly Team, Gerald had to work with Mr. Gop in building structures demanded by their clients.
Gerald admits that they initially had communication-based problems on the first week. This challenge in communication made him adjust his working style.
Nevertheless, Mr. Gop’s technical training and knowledge acquired from long years of experience made the adjustment and work easier for Gerald to deal with.
Aside from his existing skills, his diligence and humble attitude for learning helps him produce outstanding work despite the disability. This hardworking character inspires, not only his colleagues, but also the leader himself, Gerard, to work harder. Since he has a speech impairment, he also strives to communicate and